Enigma
by xXxMystical-DreamerxXx
Summary: "'A vivid imagination.' That's what they write on my report card. 'Needs to work on paying attention in class. Cassandra could do better if she applies herself.' I feel so out of place in this world. Is there a place I could ever belong?" When Cassie literally runs into an unlikely hero, the world she knows is turned completely upside down.


**Disclaimer: I'm a girl. 'Nuff said.**

**Enjoy!**

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Enigma

I was staring out the window. My English teacher was chattering on and on about prepositions or whatever. I didn't get why we need to know this. It's not like we'll walk up to a job interview and be asked about prepositions, right?

I had been diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia when I was 5, and so had they. It meant that I had a lot of trouble paying attention and reading. I wasn't sure why I saw crazy things while other people didn't. Once, I saw a snake-lady slithering down the street on the way to school, but no one believed me. They said it was just my imagination.

_A vivid imagination. _That's what they write on my report card. _Needs to work on paying attention in class. Cassandra could do better if she applies herself._

Basically, they think I'm a failure.

My only two friends were fifteen-year-old twins. Unfortunately, that meant that they were in high school while I was in 7th grade.

"Cheer up," Megan always tells me. "You're beautiful and you need to show the world what you can do."

I don't consider myself that pretty. I have thick, wavy black hair that fell to the small of my back and piercing sea-green eyes. Well, at least that's what people tell me. That they're piercing, I mean. And it's really annoying when people pick on me for my looks. They ask if I had plastic surgery or something. I always coolly respond, "I'm an orphan."

But I thought Megan was beautiful. She and Michael were practically my siblings, and they thought of me the same way. She had silvery-blue eyes and straight auburn hair with side-bangs that rest just below her shoulders. Michael's eyes are more gray than silver, and his hair is slightly browner. They're both wonderful people.

"_Cassandra!"_ my teacher, Ms. Kerr, said sharply to me.

I jerked out of my daydream and stared blankly at the sentence on the board. "What does this say?" she asked sweetly.

I scowled. She _knew _I had dyslexia. It seemed that she made me read the board every English class, making me blush all the time. Nevertheless, I put myself through the torture. "_The . . . god . . ."_

"Dog, Miss Kagamine," Ms. Kerr trilled.

"_Dog," _I growled, _"is eating the word – wood –"_

"Woman's," Ms. Kerr sighed. "Do we have to go through this every day, Miss Cassandra?"

I blushed, but continued reading. "_Woman's food,"_ I finished. I glared at the rest of my class, who had all swiveled around to stare at me with their unrelenting eyes.

Ms. Kerr made me read about five more paragraphs in the textbook (which I naturally stumbled over), and basically humiliating me even more. At long last, the bell rang, and I was free to go home.

"Cassie," Mom asked, "could you set the table for me please?"

"Kay," I responded. Emeria Kagamine wasn't my real mom, but everyone in the foster home affectionately called her Mom.

"Megan and Michael aren't home yet," she called after me. "I'll tell you when they get back."

I put twelve placemats on the table. One for everyone who lives here. The three youngest, who were six, six, and seven respectively, were playing in another room. Everyone else was either doing still stuff after school, or was beginning to come home. It was a wonder how Mom managed to get such a big place in Manhattan.

As I was placing the cups, Mom said, "There's going to be a couple of visitors tomorrow who want to adopt some of you guys, so be on your best behavior."

I rolled my eyes. When she said "be on your best behavior," she meant don't destroy the plumbing every time I saw a spider. It was really strange. Something water-related would explode whenever one of those creepy-crawlies– well, _creeped_ towards me.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, Cassie!" she yelled from the other room. I grinned. She always knew when someone rolls their eyes.

"Mom, we're home!" a male voice shouted. _Michael!_

"Hi guys!" I said happily.

"Hey, Cass," Michael said ruffling my hair lovingly, while Megan hugged me in greeting.

When everyone was seated at their respective places (from oldest [Mom] to youngest [Claire]), we dug in.

"How was school today, Cass?" Megan shouted over the din even though she was seated right next to me.

"Not so great," I said back.

Megan nodded at me sympathetically. "Did Ms. Kerr make you read again?" Megan got how bad that woman had it for me. When she and Michael had her a couple years back, Ms. Kerr always made them read, even though they had dyslexia.

"Yeah, it was horrible. Everyone was like, staring at me."

"Well, if we get adopted, maybe our new parents will transfer us out," Megan said optimistically. I liked that she said we would leave together. I didn't want to be alone without the twins by my side.

I looked away from Megan and at my plate. Fish and asparagus. I pushed the fish away (why would I eat something that _talked _to me?), and ate my vegetables.

I should probably explain the "talking" thing.

You see, Mom owns this goldfish. It's located in the kitchen where the sunlight shines. It talks to me. No one else can understand it but me. It's really weird. Mom named her Calla, but the fish told me that it's a he, and his name's actually Nemo. Seriously. Like the clownfish from _Finding Nemo_.

When I told Mom this, she refused to believe me and insisted that we all call the fish Calla. My mom can be weird like that. I guess it's because she's still not married – even though she's drop-dead gorgeous and like, thirty-five – and she has to deal with angsty teenagers and whiny little kids. I've always wondered how she had the power to deal with us.

I quietly passed the fish to Michael, who happily ate it. Then –

"Cassie didn't eat her fish again!" Angelina, the supremely bratty witch who's only a year younger than I am, tattled.

The room grew silent. Mom pushed up her purple wire-rimmed glasses up her nose and looked at me with tired brown eyes. Even though Mom was still young, she was beginning to have some silver streaks in her black hair. "Cassie, you need to eat your fish," she said quietly. "It's good for you."

"But I can't eat something that can talk to me!" I protested. "It's wrong. Nemo says –" I fell silent. I was told to not talk to him anymore.

"Cassie," Mom said gently, with raised eyebrows, "what have I told you?"

"Don't talk to the goldfish," I replied, tears beginning to brim in my eyes. I angrily brushed those traitors out of my eyes and stood up. "I'm finished. I'm going outside to think."

I picked up my empty plate and slammed it in the sink. As I was storming away from my shocked family, I spitefully hoped the plate broke. But it was quickly replaced with a feeling of regret. I wanted to go back and apologize, but that would make me seem weak.

I exited the condo and raced down the stairs blindly. When I left the building, I broke into a jog. It was about sunset when I began to feel how tired I am. I eased myself on a bench and slumped down, exhausted. Maybe it'd be a good time to . . . I yawned. Sleep . . .

When I came to, the moon was pretty high in the sky. I was faintly aware of some whispering in the trees around me. "Daughter of the . . ."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and she's under me!"

"Haven't had one since Perseus . . ."

I quickly leapt up and whipped my head around. I heard a few frightened shrieks and I saw some shadows disappearing into trees. Maybe I was still dreaming.

"Lovely demigod . . ." a voice hissed. "Sssshe smellssss like the sssea . . . and another aroma I can't quite placceeeee . . ."

Yup. Definitely still dreaming. The tree beings were fearfully peeking out of their homes and staring at me. "Dracnae," I heard one of them whisper.

Wasn't a dracnae part of Greek mythology?

When I turned around, I saw the snake-lady I saw when I was little! "You," I breathed.

"Me," she said with satisfaction. "You were too young to kill before, but now that your sssscent has grown sssstronger, I finally know you can be my next meal!"

"Sorry lady," I retorted. "I'm no 'demigod' or whatnot, so leave me alone. See ya!" I turned around and bolted away.

Even though I was running faster than I have ever run before, I could still hear the ominous hissing of the snake-lady. "Keep running, child! You will never escape Queen Sssesssss . . ."

I was out of the park. I ran faster, darting in and out of pedestrians. I risked a glance back, trying to catch a glimpse of the monster . . .

Then I crashed into someone, and we both went tumbling. I untangled myself from whomever I slammed into and said incredulously, "Grover?"

I was never the best of friends with Grover Underwood. He was a year ahead, so I never really talked with him.

"Cassie?" he said just as incredulously back. "What're you –" Then he yelped. "What's that thing following you?"

"You can see her?"

Grover hauls me to my feet, and we both take off, sprinting. "What did she say to you?" he demanded.

"Uh, something about how I smelled like the sea," I stammered.

"_Di immortales!" _he cursed. "Percy's gonna flip when he hears this . . ." Then we stopped in front of my home. Grover reached into his pocket and handed me a bracelet. "Use this to fight her," he says. "Hurry!"

"How am I gonna fight her with a _bracelet?" _I said. Fortunately, there were no people around.

"Take off the trident charm," he urged. "Before she catches up to us!"

I looked skeptically at him, but then I heard her. "Found a ssssatyr, haven't you child?" she laughed.

_A satyr? Grover?_

"As a lord of the Wild and a certified protector, I swear on the River Styx to protect this demigod to the best of my ability and until she's able to defend herself."

Thunder boomed.

I yanked off the charm and the bracelet turned into a sharp, triangular bronze knife about a foot long. Without thinking, I lunged forward and buried the blade into the Snake Queen's chest. "Impossssssible," she gasped.

When her essence was turned into dust, I smiled. "Your days are over, Queen Sess."

"We need to get you to Camp Half-Blood, Cassie," Grover said seriously. "She was only the first monster to target you. The sooner we get you to camp, the higher the chance you'll survive."

"But what about Megan and Michael?" I protesedt. "They could be demigods too!"

"They are," Grover said. "Another team is on their way to get them. You'll see them soon. But first, I need to call a ride."

I wasn't sure what he meant "call a ride," but then he whistled. Like, really loudly. Then two winged shapes soared down from the sky – a pure black pegasus, and another one that was black and white, like a cow.

"Hi Blackjack," Grover said to the black one. It seemed like they were already acquainted with each other.

I moved to the spotted one. "Hi there. I'm Cassandra, but you can call me Cassie."

_Hello, Cassie. I'm Cinnamon. Are you a daughter of the sea?_

"Not sure," I said, not exactly sure what Cinnamon meant by that.

"Are you talking to that pegasus?" Grover asked. When I didn't answer, he smacked his forehead and said, "That about confirms it."

"Confirms it?" I asked suspiciously.

Grover sighed. "That you could be a daughter of Poseidon."

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**Ooh! Cliffie! Who do you think Megan and Michael's parent is? Could it be parents? Anyway, here's the end of the first chapter of ****_Enigma. _**

**Please review!**

**~xXxMystical-DreamerxXx**


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